It's not every day Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice get together to talk football.

The three San Francisco 49ers legends are scheduled to appear on NFL Live (Monday, 4 p.m. ET) with Trey Wingo as part of EA Sports Madden13 NFL Legends Week.

The reunion features Montana and Rice in studio, with Young participating via satellite.

The occasion has led me to revisit an email chain from June with author Adam Lazarus regarding his forthcoming book, Best of Rivals. The book goes into detail on the dynamics of the Montana-Young relationship, and of the dilemma Bill Walsh and the organization faced.

The prologue contains a funny story about Young awkwardly having to borrow Montana's shoes upon arriving in Tampa Bay.

We've spent quite a bit of time breaking down quarterback competitions in the NFC West this offseason. There was nothing quite like Montana-Young.

One observation from Lazarus, via our email exchange:

"Young and Montana were as different as two men could possibly be, on the field, off the field, inside their own heads. And while that may not seem like a football story necessarily, I think it proves that there is no roadmap or blueprint for quarterback greatness.

"Teams looking for the 'next Cam Newton' or the 'next Aaron Rodgers' or the 'next Steve Young' might find themselves disappointed. Montana and Young achieved the same type of excellence in completely different ways."